Related Articles

WASHINGTON— Crimea is a Ukrainian peninsula, home of Russia’s Black Sea fleet which allows Moscow to extend its military presence throughout the Mediterranean.

The majority of its population is ethnic Russian, a quarter is ethnic Ukrainian and about 12 percent are Crimean Tatars.

For centuries, Crimea was part of Russia, until 1954 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave the peninsula to Ukraine - at that time a Soviet republic.

FILE - A 2001 photo of Sergei Khrushchev, the son of the late Soviet leader, speaking to reporters in his Brown University office in Providence, R.I.

x

FILE - A 2001 photo of Sergei Khrushchev, the son of the late Soviet leader, speaking to reporters in his Brown University office in Providence, R.I.

Nikita Khrushchev gives Crimea to Ukraine

Khrushchev’s son Sergei said the decision to give Crimea to Ukraine had to do with economics and agriculture - the building of a hydro-electric dam on the Dnieper River which would irrigate Ukraine’s southern regions, including Crimea.

“As the Dnieper and the hydro-electric dam [is] on Ukrainian territory, let’s transfer the rest of the territory of Crimea under the Ukrainian supervision so they will be responsible for everything," Sergei Khrushchev said. "And they did it. It was not a political move, it was not an ideological move - it was just business.”

Khrushchev said it made sense to have one entity responsible for the building of such a large project.

“And now we have this speculation that my father wanted to satisfy Ukrainian democracy, that he even made a gift to his wife, my mother, because she was Ukrainian - all this have nothing with reality. It was just an economical issue, and not political,” said Khrushchev.

Crimea Now under Russian Control

Crimea is now under complete control of Russian armed forces. Russian officials say the move was to protect ethnic Russians living on the peninsula. But western officials say there is no evidence that Russians need protection. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described the takeover as “an incredible act of aggression.”

Tensions rose between Moscow and Kyiv last month after Ukraine’s pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovich was overthrown by a protest movement wanting closer ties with the European Union. More than 80 demonstrators were killed and Mr. Yanukovich fled to Russia.

Khrushchev said there are no parallels between what is happening in Crimea and the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia over its two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

“In the 2008 war there, the president [Mikhail] Saakashvili tried to restore control over these two rebel regions using force - and they attacked them and Russia fought back. It was war.”

Referendum on Crimea’s Future March 16

Right now, said Khrushchev, no shots have been fired in Crimea.

“And I hope there will be no shooting, because nobody is interested there in fighting. And the Ukrainian military who are serving in Crimea, they are Crimeans and they don’t want to start fighting," said Khrushchev, “that will be against the interest of their own people and their own country. And I think the Russians also don’t want to fight. Why do they have to fight?”

Looking ahead, Khrushchev said giving Crimea back to Russia is not an option - “and I hope it’s not going to happen. And I never heard from Putin that he wanted to do it.”

However, lawmakers in Crimea have scheduled a referendum on joining Russia for March 16 - a move that will escalate tensions even more.

Andre de Nesnera is senior analyst at the Voice of America, where he has reported on international affairs for more than three decades. Now serving in Washington D.C., he was previously senior European correspondent based in London, established VOA’s Geneva bureau in 1984 and in 1989 was the first VOA correspondent permanently accredited in the Soviet Union.

Afghan officials and human rights organizations assert that Pakistani authorities are using deadly attack at school in Peshawar as pretext to push out Afghan refugees More

This forum has been closed.

Comment Sorting

Comments

by: Marius from: Canada

March 25, 2014 3:46 PM

Igor, You are too young to remember or too patriotic to believe that Crimea is not Russian. The only reason Russians are the majority in Crimea is because of Soviet genocide by Stalin

I would not be debating this with you if my grandma had not left the Ukraine to move to Canada.http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/ukraine_famine.htm

by: Regula from: USA

March 07, 2014 6:18 AM

This article is a lot of propaganda; apparently Khrushchev's son wants to distance himself from the Russians for fear of shadows of the past.

Nobody wants to fight in Crimea - that is exactly the reason for the Russian deployment: the US used a group of rightwing extremists who actually belong to NATO but are stationed in Ukraine, to start the protests and rioting and keep the rioting going by shooting on both, the police and protesters, to topple Yanukovich. The real cause for the riots was the US intention to get Ukraine under western control and into NATO and to oust the Russians from their base and fleet in Sewastopol. Association with the EU was only a pretext to start protests going.

Without the Russian military there would have been civil war in Crimea between the rightwing extremists, under the pretext to eliminate all Russians who, after the Ukrainian parliament repealed the language law, became pariahs.

It is thanks to Putin's far sight that this civil war - and the US intentions for Crimea - were prevented.

In Response

by: Roman Skolozdra from: Florida USA

March 07, 2014 3:32 PM

And you get your information from Putin himself? Some of what you say might be true but I don't think this was so well planned out that it endup like the way things are now. I have absolutely no idea how or why you are so pro Russia/ Putin . Putin has put a lot of people in a very dangerous position. If fighting were to break out what's he going to say, oh , no I didn't want it to excaslate like this. I think you are the one spreading propaganda.

by: Tatiana from: Washington, DC

March 06, 2014 9:30 PM

Sergei, come on!! Your father presented Crimea to Ukraine to gain support from the communist leadership of Soviet Ukraine for his hold of General Secretary post. It was an action similar to the one done in the old times by Emperors giving the land to buy the loyalty of potential troublemakers. The name of Khrushchev will be forever despised not only by the Russian people but by all those who are well aware of his role in Stalin's terror in Ukraine. for his shoe banging in UN and for his promise to bury America.

In Response

by: Roman Skolozdra from: Florida USA

March 07, 2014 4:05 PM

I've read that Khrushchev's wife was Ukrainian, not sure if he was Ukrainian. Khrushchev inflicted a lot of pain on Ukraine. Khrushchev's son could shed some light on wether Khrushchev was Russian or Ukrainian. The conflict in Crimea is very serious situation and I don't believe Putin is not behind the troops that are there without insignias, which constitutes a voilation of treaties and laws only because at one time the borders were different than thy are today. You can give something than all of a sudden take it back, where is the logic in that.

In Response

by: Igor from: Russia

March 06, 2014 11:36 PM

You are right! Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, a Ucrainian, gave Crimea to Ukraine against the will of Crimea people. He robbed Crimea from Russia on the economic pretext. So now Crimea must be returned to Russia on economic, historical, cultrural...reasons.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that his country could face further consequences to what he called its “already strained economy” if Moscow does not fully comply with a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two met, on Monday, on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where Kerry outlined human rights violations in Russian-annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine. VOA State Department correspondent Pam Dockins reports from Geneva.

Video

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that his country could face further consequences to what he called its “already strained economy” if Moscow does not fully comply with a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two met, on Monday, on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where Kerry outlined human rights violations in Russian-annexed Crimea and eastern Ukraine. VOA State Department correspondent Pam Dockins reports from Geneva.

Video

Diagnosing infections such as HIV requires expensive clinical tests, making the procedure too costly for many poor patients or those living in remote areas. But a new technology called lab-on-a-chip may make the tests more accessible to many. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Afghan officials have expressed concern over reports of a crackdown on Afghan refugees in Pakistan following the Peshawar school attack in December. Reports of mass arrests and police harassment coupled with fear of an uncertain future are making life difficult for a population that fled its homeland to escape war. VOA’s Ayesha Tanzeem reports from Islamabad.

Video

Despite the ongoing ceasefire in Ukraine, soldiers in the city of Mariupol fear that pro-Russian separatists may be getting ready to attack. The separatists must take or encircle the city if they wish to gain land access to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia early last year. But Ukrainian forces, many of them volunteers, say they are determined to defend it. Patrick Wells reports from Mariupol.

Video

As low oil prices and Western sanctions force Russia's economy into recession, thousands of Moscow restaurants are expected to close their doors. Restaurant owners face rents tied to foreign currency, while rising food prices mean Russians are spending less when they dine out. One entrepreneur in Moscow has started a dinner kit delivery service for those who want to cook at home to save money but not skimp on quality. VOA's Daniel Schearf reports.

Video

The United States and Cuba say they have made progress in the second round of talks on restoring diplomatic relations more than 50 years after breaking off ties. Delegations from both sides met in Washington on Friday to work on opening embassies in Havana and Washington and iron out key obstacles to historic change. VOA’s Mary Alice Salinas reports from the State Department.

Video

One after another, presumptive Republican presidential contenders auditioned for conservative support this week at the Conservative Political Action Conference held outside Washington. The rhetoric was tough as a large field of potential candidates tried to woo conservative support with red-meat attacks on President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. VOA Political Columnist Jim Malone takes a look.

Video

New Yorkers take pride in setting world trends — in fashion, the arts and fine dining. The city’s famous biannual Restaurant Week plays a significant role in a booming tourism industry that sustains 359,000 jobs and generates $61 billion in yearly revenue. VOA's Ramon Taylor reports.

Video

Issues like the Keystone XL pipeline, fracking and instability in the Middle East are driving debate in the U.S. about making America energy independent. Recently, the American Energy Innovation Council urged Congress and the White House to make expanded energy research a priority. One beneficiary of increased energy spending would be the Brookhaven National Lab, where clean, renewable, efficient energy is the goal. VOA's Bernard Shusman reports.

Video

There has been a surge of interest in the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s, thanks in part to the Hollywood motion picture "Selma." Five decades later, communities in the South are embracing the dark chapters of their past with hopes of luring tourism dollars. VOA's Chris Simkins reports.

Video

With the end of summer in the Southern hemisphere, the Antarctic research season is over. Scientists from Northern Illinois University are back in their laboratory after a 3-month expedition on the Ross Ice Shelf, the world’s largest floating ice sheet. As VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports, they hope to find clues to explain the dynamics of the rapidly melting ice and its impact on sea level rise.

Video

A Lao dam project on a section of the Mekong River is drawing opposition from local fishermen, international environmental groups and neighboring countries. VOA's Say Mony visited the region to investigate the concerns. Colin Lovett narrates.